Circuit-interrupter.



J. N. MAHONEY.

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTEB.

APrucmom rum ocr. 15. m4.

Phtented Oct. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-*SHEET 1- I ll INVENTOR JooephN. Nahoney, BY

1. N. MAHONEY. CIRCUIT lNTERRUPTER.

1,241,534. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15. I914. Patented 2 z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR JasgohNNahoney.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH N. MAHONEY, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

CIRCUIT-INTERBUPTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

To ali whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH N. MAHONEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Circut. nterrupters, of which the following is a specification.

My" invention relates to circuit interupters and particularly to interrupters of the reactanc type.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved and simplified type of reactance circuitjnterrupten,

-When .a;hIgh-voltage circuit is opened and closed, the'transient wave or surge that is set up must be dissipated in order to protect the circuit from undue oscillations and disturbances. My copending U. S. applications, Serial Nos. 784,085, and 784,083, filed August 11, 1913, disclose circuit interrupters for accomplishing this result. In circuit interrupters of this type, a reactor is in sorted in the circuit before it is interru ted and before it is closed for the purpose of dissipating the surges that are incident to such operations. These devices are eflicient but they are expensive to construct by reason of the complicated mechanism necessary to provide the.!cprrect time interval between the operationiof thqidifl'erent parts of the same. a I

My present invcntibn provides a circuit interrupter ofithc reactance type that doesnot requlre a complicated operating mechanism since the movable contact members of the same are operated simultaneously. I employ an ordinary three-pole circuit interrupter and I mount the reactor between the terminals of one pole of the same and connect the reactor in shunt relation to the contact members of another pole. It has been found that, with this construction, a circuit may be interrupted with a minimum amount of disturbance.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a rear view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of a. circuit interrupter embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is aside view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the circuit interrupter shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a die rammatic view of a circuit interrupter em odying my invention.

A generator 1 supplies current to an electrical load 2 through a conductor 3 in which is connected a circuit interrupter 4, embodymg my invention.

.The circuit interrupter l is mounted on a panel .3 and comprises a bracket 6 that sup- 'ports an oil-containing receptacle 7 in which is disposed stationary contact members 8 and 9 and movable bridgin members 10 and 11 to cooperate therewith. The stationary contact members 8 and 9 are mounted on the lower ends of a plurality of stationary terminal members 12. A reactor 13 is mounted on the lower ends of two of the stationary terminal members. 12, and the terminal members on which it is mounted are permanently connected, in shunt relation, to the air of terminal members 12 on which the s ationary contact members 9 are mounted. The bridging members 10 and 11 are supported by rods 14 and 15 that are operatively connected together by a, bar 16. A link 17 is pivotally connected, at one end, to the bar 16 and, at its other end, to a lever 18 that is pivotally mounted on the bracket 6. A bell-crank lever 19 is pivotally mounted on a pin 20 and is operatively con nected, by a link 21, to the lever 18. A biafurcated lever 22 is also pivotally mounted on .the pin 20 and is disposed on two sides ofone arm of the bell crank lever 19 to constitut -fithcrewith a compound operating lever. A latch member 23 is pivotally mounted on the lever 22 and is adapted to engage the lever 19 for the purpose of latching the saidlevers nornia ly together. A tri ping device 24, comprising a magnet coi (not shown} and a movable core member-2at,' is mounted on the front of the panel 5. The movable core member 24 is adapted to engage one arm of the latch 23 to trip the lever 19 free from the lever 22 under predetermined load conditions.

'Assuming that the circuit interrupter 4 -is in the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing and that it isdesired to complete the circuit through-the conductor 2, my in vention operates as follows:

The operating lever 22 is moved upwardly until the latch 23 engages the lever 19, then it is moved downwardly to cause the bridging members 10 and 11 to engage their respective stationary'contact members 8 and 9. When the movable and stationary contact members are being engaged, the reactor 13 is rendered inoperative by reason of the low resistance of the bridging member 11 connected in shunt relation thereto. However. this is not detrimental. as very little surge is perceptible when the circuit is closed.

If a surge or an overload on the line causes the current traversing the conductor 3 to rise to such a value that the winding of the tripping device 34 becomes sulliciently energized, the movable core member 24" will engage the latch 23 to -release the bell crank lever 1D. The lever 1!) will turn upon the pin '20 to allow the bridging members 10 and 11 to be disengaged from their respective stationarycontact members 8 and 9. A

rush of current or a surge will traverse the gap between the movable and the stationary contact members when they are being disengaged, but this rush of current must necessarily traverse the reactor 13 'andbe thus reduced and consequently dissipated so that no undesirable effects will be noticeable in the circuit.

While 1 have shown my invention in a simple and preferred form, it. is not so limited, but is capable of .various modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. A circuit interrupter comprising two sets of movable and stationary contact members connected in series relation, means for so connecting the said movable contact members-inechanically together that they open simultaneously and a reactor connected in shunt relation tonne of said sets of stationmy contact members.

2. switch for an electric circuit comprising a plurality of sets of coiipcratmg contact members connected in series relation to the circuit, means for opening the sets si-' I contact members connected in series relation to the circuit, means for causing the said movable contact members to open at the same time and a reactor connected in shunt relation town: of said sets of stationary contact members. i

4. A switch for an electric circuit comprising, a plurality of sets of contact momhers connected in the said circuit, means for opening the said sets of contact members simultaneously and an energy-absorbing de' vice connected in shunt relation to one of said sets of contact members.

5. switch for an electric circuit comprising a plurality of sets of movable and stationary contact members connected in series relation to the said circuit, means for so operatively connecting the movable contact members together that they 0 en simultaneously, and an energy-absorbin means connected in shunt relation to one set of the said stationary contact members.

(3: In an electrical circuit, thecombination with a plurality of sets of ino'vablc and stationary contact members, means for opening the movable contact members simultaneously, and means connected in shunt relation to the stationary contact members of one of said sets of contact members for dissipating the energy incident to the interruption of the said circuit;

7. An interrupter foran electric circuit eomprisinga plurality of 006 ting contact members connected in series relationto the circuit, means for; efiecting the simultancous opening-of the contact members and means connected in shtmt relation to certain of the contact members for dissipati'n the energy incident to the interruption o the circuit.

s. A circuit interrupter comprising a plurality ofsets of coiiperatingontact members connected in series with the circuit to be protected, means for causing the sets to be opened simultaneously and an energyabsorbing device connected in shunt relation to one of the said sets. 7

9. A switch forflan electric circuit comprising a plurality of sets of cooperating contact members connected to the circuit, means for causing the sets to be ogened simultaneously and an energy-absor ing device connected in shunt relation to one of the said set& I c

In testimony whcrcofl'l have-hereunto subscribed. my name this 29th day of September, 1914. f

1 JOSEPH N. MAH'ONEY. Witnesses: i a

Jno. MGICEGHNIB, B. B. Hmns. 

